This is such a slow beginning, it really doesn't get moving until half way in, but once it gets moving you cannot stop reading, wich the entire story could have been that way, but hang in with it, it is worth it!

This book really was one that was hard to put down, I really wanted to know what happens next. These are always the best read././.enjoy it like I did.

With their park view and their old fashioned detail, the Victorian houses on San Francisco's Steiner Street were highly valuable. With their wooden construction, there were also highly vulnerable. So when Paul Hanover's multimillion dollar home went up in flames, it was oll over very quickly. And when the bodies of Hanover and his girlfriend were found in the charred debris, it appeared that the end came even more quickly for them-judging from the bullet holes in their heads.

But this isn't just any double homicide. Hanover was a friend-and donor-to the mayor. She wants answers, now. And she wants Abe Glitsky, Deputy Cheif of Inspectors, to provide them. With the help of his close friend, attorney Dismas Hardy, Glitsky reluctantly jumps on the case-trying no to step on departmental toes along the way. Before it's over, the pair will have to face an old lover and an old enemy-and follow a trail of evidence that stretches far beyond their usual jurisdiction....

Lescroart ranks alongside John Grisham; he has created a family of characters lawyers, police who appear in a series of page-turner legal thrillers; this volume is one of the latest, and also one of the best if you like this genre.

This was my first novel by Lescroart and I really enjoyed it. The courtroom scenes were very well written and I liked the witty dialogue among the characters. While I'm loathe to start a new "series" I will definitely read more from this author.

Success has its disadvantages. Abe Glitzky, once a homicide cop and now a high-level administrator in the San Francisco Police Department, is none too thrilled to be called upon by the mayor, his longtime friend Kathy West, to help investigate a case. Both Paul Hanover, a wealthy businessman and significant contributor to West's campaign coffers, and a woman were found dead in Hanover's home, and the fire that leveled the house wasn't the cause: both victims died of gunshot wounds. Although it looks like a "clean" murder-suicide, forensics proves otherwise, much to the mayor's relief. But now there's a double-homicide to solve. Normally, Glitzky wouldn't mind helping out his old department, but the lead investigator on the case is Dan Cuneo, someone Glitzky, along with his friend, attorney Dismas "Diz" Hardy, had locked horns with some time ago. The likelihood of Glitzky and Cuneo working together amicably is remote, especially when it turns out that the chief suspect is Diz's ex-girlfriend. In typical Lescroart fashion, personal conflicts, political favors, and top-notch courtroom drama converge for a gripping, page-turning drama. Mary Frances Wilkens

John Lescroart is to mystery-thrillers as espresso is to coffee...This is not literature in the sense of a Joyce Carol Oates or Norman Mailer, but it is very good writing. I've probably read a dozen of Lescroart's books, and they are excellent. There's a grittiness that intrigues me. His characters are real, meaning they have flaws. They are distracted with the details of life, like being tired, hungry or lonely. And yet they are determined. Similarly, his villains are not unusually evil people. True, they've killed or robbed, but like his heroes, they are people doing what they have to do. I won't give away the plot, but in a surprising and surprisingly satisfying twist at the end, I found myself sympathizing with the villain, recognizing her dilemma, and empathizing with her. I read a lot of novels and I often refer to them as "guilty pleasures" because they are just casual fun. Lescroart, however, rises above his contemporaries, and I recommend this to anyone who wants a good read and enjoys a tightly-written whodunit. Pick it up next chance you get.

The back cover blurb gushes, "Surpasses anything Grisham ever wrote and bears comparison whth Turow." While it's not that hard to surpass some of Grisham, this book does not measure up to Turow - even the one Turow book I didn't like.

I've read all the Dismas Hardy books, up to and including this one, and they have diminished in quality as the series progresses. The first effort in the series, "Dead Irish", which introduced Dismas Hardy, was excellent, and several of the others, like "The Mercy Rule" were extremely good, but this book really doesn't measure up. The author may have ridden this cast of characters as far as he can.

The author commits a cardinal sin by obliquely referring back to events which took place in one of the earlier offerings ("The First Law", I thinkl) without filling in enough back story to let us know what he is talking about. It has been almost two years since I read that book, which wasn't that memorable and I've forgotten what he's referring to.

I'm also getting weary of the San Francisco locale. The city by the bay was a lovely place to visit, but I don't think I could live there. The author mentions several times how people have to find a parking place, sometimes six blocks from the house, to leave the car overnight. If people are that crammed together and property values are so high nobody can afford a driveway and/or garage, that's not for me. Guess I'll stay in Teaxs where there is room to have both a driveway and a garage, even if I can't get a glimpse of the Goldan Gate Bridge through the fog.

The author spends a lot of time on "family values"; both main male characters are working on their second wives and spend a lot of time on tender moments and relations with offspring. Abe Glitsky, well into his fifties, is has started a whole second family to supplement his first family which is colege age. I'm surprised anyone has time to solve a crime.

When I find an author I like, I usually buy everything I can find that he/she has written, then read the books in order. As a result, I still have five or six Lescroart's books to read, but doubt that I'll buy any more.

Dismas and Glitsky are at it again in another enjoyable legal thriller. I found this one to be one of the better of this series. Lots of interesting ins and outs and a late denouement with a different ending for Glitsky. And during this novel, Glitsky gets a surprise that he deals with very well, even when something goes wrong. A very good read.

Another excellent Dismas Hardy story and trial. I look forward to each new book I haven't read by this author (Lescroart). He combines a well-thought-out plot with carefully developed characters, especially Hardy and his police buddy Abe Glitsky and their wives, and believable dialogue. He is, in other words, a fine writer.

This is a very entertaining addition to the series involving Dismas Hardy, San Francisco criminal defense attorney, and his friend/colleague, Police Inspector Nathan Glitsky. Lescroart has evolved story lines for these characters over the years (as well as their families, and they are well delineated and interesting. The plot plot in this book was full of twists and turns to say the least!

This book has more plot twists than I ever would have expected... and was certainly a good book!

I always enjoy Lescroart's Dismas Hardy/Abe Glitsky novels and this one is no exception. The usual components are there - personality conflicts, political meddling, courtroom drama, and a twist (you will probably see coming but appreciate anyway). Recommend.